Knowledge, and use of labour pain relief methods and associated factors among obstetric caregivers at public health centers of East Gojjam zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia: a facility based cross- sectional study

Abstract

Background The study was conducted in public health centers of East Gojjam Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, and use of labour pain relief methods and associated factors among obstetric caregivers in the study setting. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 1–30, 2018. The study was conducted among three hundred and nine sampled obstetric caregivers. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were entered into Epi-data version 4.2 Software for cleaning and exported to SPSS version 23.0 for data analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out for variables with a p-value < 0.25 in bivariate logistic regression to determine significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Statistical significance was determined at 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value below 0.05. Result The overall use of labour pain relief methods reported was 34.4%, (30.4% non-pharmacological and 8.4 pharmacological, respectively). More than half of the study participants (54.2%) had adequate knowledge about labour pain relief methods. In multivariate analysis, being a midwifery profession [AOR =2.814, 95% CI = (1.574–5.031)], having positive attitude [AOR = 4.370, 95% CI = (2.523–7.567)], and professionals with a medium level of education [AOR = 3.450, 95% CI = (1.993–5.971)] were factors significantly associated with knowledge of obstetric caregivers about labour pain relief methods. In multivariate analysis, knowledge of obstetric caregivers [AOR = 3.821, 95% CI = (2.091–6.980)], positive attitude of obstetric caregivers [AOR = 2.455, 95% CI = ((1.358–4.436))] and experience of obstetric caregivers [AOR = 2.56, 95% CI = (1.350–4.845) were factors significantly associated with the use of labour pain relief methods. Conclusion In this study, the overall use of labour pain relief methods by obstetric caregivers was low. Systemic opioid (Pethdine) was reportedly one of the most known pharmacological pain relief methods in this study. Providers’ knowledge, attitude and work experience had shown statistical significance with the use of labour pain relief methods. Task-oriented in- service training is required to fortify obstetric caregivers’ knowledge and attitude towards the use of labour pain relief methods.

Utilization of Obstetric Analgesia for Labor Pain Management and Associated Factors among Obstetric Care Providers in Public Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In addition, having adequate knowledge was associated with utilization of labor analgesia. This is similar with studies conducted in Nigeria and Ethiopia [ 15 , 23 ]. However, it is inconsistent with study performed in Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia, which reported obstetric care providers with inadequate knowledge were practicing labor analgesia more likely [ 16 ].…”

“…In line with findings from previous studies, providers with more years of experience were more likely to utilize labor analgesia [ 23 , 29 ]. This may be due to the reason that as obstetric care providers became more experienced, their level of knowledge and attitude became improved [ 30 ].…”

“…is could also be from sociocultural and socioeconomic variations. However, it is higher than the studies conducted in Bangladesh (7.4%) and East Gojjam zone, Ethiopia (8.4%) [22,23]. e variation might be due to differences in perception of labor pain and its management [12].…”

Use of Non-pharmacological Methods in Managing Labour Pain: Experiences of Nurse- midwives in Two Selected Districts Hospital of Pwani and Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania

“…However, other non-pharmacological approaches such as education for childbirth preparation, warm bath/shower and music which can be effectively used in our context were not reported by any of participants signifying limited awareness or rare use of these methods among our participants. This is not unique to Tanzania, similar ndings have been reported in other studies where many methods of nonpharmacological pain relief are not well known by the majority of health care providers, thus unable to offer non-pharmacological methods to manage labour pain [2,12,21,23]. This shows that the use of non-pharmacological methods by health care providers is still low and the management of labour pain is not evidence-based [12,24].…”

Pain in the Prehospital Setting in Rwanda: Results of a Mixed-Methods Quality Improvement Project

“…However, undertreating labor pain has been raised as a common issue in similar settings. A study from Ethiopia reported that pain medications were used for labor and delivery in only 34% of patients [ 33 ]. In Nigeria, a study examining pain in women in labor found that they reported having severe pain and would be interested in pain relief during labor if available [ 34 ].…”